US12068559B2 - Connector for holding flexible printed circuit - Google Patents

Connector for holding flexible printed circuit Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US12068559B2
US12068559B2 US17/787,110 US202017787110A US12068559B2 US 12068559 B2 US12068559 B2 US 12068559B2 US 202017787110 A US202017787110 A US 202017787110A US 12068559 B2 US12068559 B2 US 12068559B2
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
retainer
board
connector
pressing
connector housing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Active, expires
Application number
US17/787,110
Other versions
US20230033186A1 (en
Inventor
Shinji Nozaki
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd
AutoNetworks Technologies Ltd
Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd
Original Assignee
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd
AutoNetworks Technologies Ltd
Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd, AutoNetworks Technologies Ltd, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd filed Critical Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd
Assigned to AUTONETWORKS TECHNOLOGIES, LTD., SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD. reassignment AUTONETWORKS TECHNOLOGIES, LTD. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: NOZAKI, SHINJI
Publication of US20230033186A1 publication Critical patent/US20230033186A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US12068559B2 publication Critical patent/US12068559B2/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
Adjusted expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Images

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R12/00—Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, specially adapted for printed circuits, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB], flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, e.g. terminal strips, terminal blocks; Coupling devices specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures; Terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures
    • H01R12/70—Coupling devices
    • H01R12/77—Coupling devices for flexible printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables or like structures
    • H01R12/79—Coupling devices for flexible printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables or like structures connecting to rigid printed circuits or like structures
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/62—Means for facilitating engagement or disengagement of coupling parts or for holding them in engagement
    • H01R13/629—Additional means for facilitating engagement or disengagement of coupling parts, e.g. aligning or guiding means, levers, gas pressure electrical locking indicators, manufacturing tolerances
    • H01R13/633—Additional means for facilitating engagement or disengagement of coupling parts, e.g. aligning or guiding means, levers, gas pressure electrical locking indicators, manufacturing tolerances for disengagement only
    • H01R13/635—Additional means for facilitating engagement or disengagement of coupling parts, e.g. aligning or guiding means, levers, gas pressure electrical locking indicators, manufacturing tolerances for disengagement only by mechanical pressure, e.g. spring force
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R12/00—Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, specially adapted for printed circuits, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB], flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, e.g. terminal strips, terminal blocks; Coupling devices specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures; Terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures
    • H01R12/70—Coupling devices
    • H01R12/7005—Guiding, mounting, polarizing or locking means; Extractors
    • H01R12/7011—Locking or fixing a connector to a PCB
    • H01R12/707—Soldering or welding
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R12/00—Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, specially adapted for printed circuits, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB], flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, e.g. terminal strips, terminal blocks; Coupling devices specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures; Terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures
    • H01R12/70—Coupling devices
    • H01R12/77—Coupling devices for flexible printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables or like structures
    • H01R12/778—Coupling parts carrying sockets, clips or analogous counter-contacts
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R12/00—Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, specially adapted for printed circuits, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB], flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, e.g. terminal strips, terminal blocks; Coupling devices specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures; Terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures
    • H01R12/70—Coupling devices
    • H01R12/82—Coupling devices connected with low or zero insertion force
    • H01R12/85—Coupling devices connected with low or zero insertion force contact pressure producing means, contacts activated after insertion of printed circuits or like structures

Definitions

  • Patent Document 1 discloses a connector in which a first connection terminal and a second connection terminal corresponding to the first connection terminal are mounted on a base.
  • the first connection terminal includes an operation contact piece having an operation receiving portion on one end and a movable contact point adjacent to the second connection terminal on the other end.
  • the base is provided with an operation lever for pushing up the operation receiving portion by an operation cam by being operated.
  • the operation receiving portion located on one side across a coupling portion is pushed up by the operation cam and the movable contact point on the other side across the coupling portion approaches the second connection terminal.
  • FPCs Flexible Printed Circuits
  • the operation cam (operation lever) configured to contact the first connection terminals needs to be, for example, made of a nonconductive material such as a synthetic resin.
  • the operation cam may be gradually deformed by a reaction force of the pushed-up operation receiving portion and a force for holding the FPCs may become weak.
  • the present disclosure aims to provide a connector capable of satisfactorily holding a board even in a high-temperature and high-humidity atmosphere.
  • the present disclosure is directed to a connector with a connector housing including a board accommodation space, a terminal fitting mounted in the connector housing to face the board accommodation space, and a retainer for sandwiching and holding a flexible board arranged in the board accommodation space between the terminal fitting and the retainer, wherein a state of the retainer changes to a pressing state for pressing the flexible board toward the terminal fitting and a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board, and the retainer is made of metal.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state where a flexible board is arranged in a board accommodation space and a retainer is in a pressing state in a connector of a first embodiment.
  • FIG. 2 is a section along A-A in FIG. 1 .
  • FIG. 3 is a section along B-B in FIG. 1 .
  • FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where a flexible board is arranged in a board accommodation space and a retainer is in a pressing state in a connector of a second embodiment.
  • FIG. 5 is a section along C-C in FIG. 4 .
  • FIG. 6 is a section along D-D in FIG. 4 .
  • FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where a flexible board is arranged in a board accommodation space and a retainer is in a pressing state in a connector of a third embodiment.
  • FIG. 8 is a section along E-E in FIG. 7 .
  • FIG. 9 is a section along F-F in FIG. 7 .
  • FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state where a flexible board is arranged in a board accommodation space and a retainer is in a pressing state in a connector of a fourth embodiment.
  • FIG. 11 is a section along G-G in FIG. 10 .
  • FIG. 12 is a section along H-H in FIG. 10 .
  • the connector of the present disclosure is provided with a connector housing including a board accommodation space, a terminal fitting mounted in the connector housing to face the board accommodation space, and a retainer for sandwiching and holding a flexible board arranged in the board accommodation space between the terminal fitting and the retainer, wherein a state of the retainer changes to a pressing state for pressing the flexible board toward the terminal fitting and a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board, and the retainer is made of metal.
  • the retainer since the retainer is made of metal, the retainer is less likely to be deformed even if this connector is exposed to a high-temperature and high-humidity atmosphere for a long period of time.
  • the connector of the present disclosure is provided with a resilient pressing piece for resiliently pressing the flexible board and bringing the flexible board and the terminal fitting into contact when the retainer is in the pressing state.
  • the flexible board and the terminal fitting can be reliably brought into conduction by the resilient pressing piece.
  • a plurality of the terminal fittings are provided in the connector housing of the connector of the present disclosure, and a plurality of the resilient pressing pieces are arranged to respectively correspond to the plurality of terminal fittings.
  • the connector housing of the connector of the present disclosure includes a wall portion partitioning between adjacent ones of the terminal fittings
  • the flexible board includes a plurality of patterns to be individually connected to the plurality of terminal fittings
  • the flexible board is formed with an insertion portion by cutting between adjacent ones of the patterns, and the wall portion is inserted through the insertion portion.
  • a creepage distance between the adjacent patterns formed on the flexible board can be secured by the wall portion.
  • the resilient pressing piece of the connector of the present disclosure is provided in at least either one of the retainer and the terminal fitting.
  • the resilient pressing piece is provided in either one of components for sandwiching the flexible board, the number of components can be reduced as compared to the case where the resilient pressing piece is provided separately.
  • a peg for holding the connector housing mounted on a board is mounted on the connector housing, and the retainer is in the pressing state when being in a first arrangement state with respect to the peg and is in the non-pressing state when being in a second arrangement state with respect to the peg.
  • a material of the peg can be different from that of the connector housing. Since this enables the selection of a material, which is not worn or deformed even if the retainer made of metal is mounted, as the material of the peg, the retainer can be reliably held in the pressing state.
  • the retainer of the connector of the present disclosure includes a shaft portion to be locked to the peg, and the state of the retainer changes to the pressing state and the non-pressing state by the retainer being rotated about the shaft portion.
  • the state of the retainer can be easily changed from the non-pressing state to the pressing state without performing an operation of positioning the retainer with respect to the connector housing.
  • the connector 1 according to the first embodiment includes a connector housing 10 , terminal fittings 11 , pegs 12 and a retainer 13 .
  • the connector 1 electrically connects a flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 11 .
  • a side on which the flexible board 30 is inserted into the connector housing 10 (left side in FIG. 3 ) is referred to as a front side concerning a front-rear direction, and upper and lower sides in FIG. 3 are defined as upper and lower sides concerning a vertical direction.
  • Left and right sides in FIG. 2 are defined as left and right sides concerning a lateral direction.
  • the connector housing 10 is made of synthetic resin and includes a terminal holding portion 10 A having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a board insertion portion 10 B formed in front of the terminal holding portion 10 A.
  • the terminal holding portion 10 A includes cavities 10 E (see FIG. 3 ).
  • a plurality of the cavities 10 E extending in the front-rear direction are aligned and arranged in the lateral direction (see FIG. 2 ).
  • the front end of each cavity 10 E is closed.
  • the terminal fitting 11 to be described later is inserted into each cavity 10 E from behind.
  • the connector housing 10 is provided with a plurality of the terminal fittings 11 .
  • a board accommodation space S 1 open on an upper side is formed on front sides of the cavities 10 E. In the first embodiment, the board accommodation space S 1 is an open region above the cavities 10 E.
  • the connector housing 10 includes the board accommodation space S 1 .
  • each wall portion 10 F partitioning between adjacent ones of the cavities 10 E are provided between the adjacent cavities 10 E (see FIG. 2 ).
  • a projecting portion 10 G projecting upward is provided in a central part in the front-rear direction of each wall portion 10 F (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ).
  • Each wall portion 10 F functions to partition between adjacent ones of the terminal fittings 11 .
  • a front side of each projecting portion 10 G is formed with an inclined surface 10 H inclined downward to the front (see FIG. 1 ).
  • the board insertion portion 10 B is formed with a slit 10 D penetrating in the front-rear direction and long in an arrangement direction of the cavities 10 E (see FIG. 3 ).
  • the peripheral edge of the slit 10 D on the front end of the board insertion portion 10 B is chamfered (see FIG. 3 ).
  • the terminal fitting 11 is integrally formed, such as by bending an electrically conductive metal plate. As shown in FIG. 3 , the terminal fitting 11 is shaped to be elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole.
  • the terminal fitting 11 includes a tubular terminal body 11 A and a board connecting portion 11 B connected behind the terminal body 11 A via a press-fit portion 11 C.
  • the terminal body 11 A includes a plate-like spring piece 11 E, which is a resilient pressing piece.
  • the spring piece 11 E resiliently contacts an electrode 30 B, which is a pattern formed on the flexible board 30 inserted through the board insertion portion 10 B and arranged in the board accommodation space S.
  • the spring piece 11 E functions as a means for connecting the flexible board 30 and the terminal body 11 with a predetermined contact pressure.
  • the spring piece 11 E is folded from the front end edge of the terminal body 11 A, extends toward a rear end and is accommodated in the terminal body 11 A.
  • a central part in the front-rear direction of the spring piece 11 E is formed to project further upward than the upper surface of the terminal body 11 A. That is, a plurality of the spring pieces 11 E are arranged to respectively correspond to the plurality of terminal fittings 11 .
  • the board connecting portion 11 B is electrically connected to a pattern formed on an unillustrated board.
  • the terminal fitting 11 includes the press-fit portion 11 C between the terminal body 11 A and the board connecting portion 11 B.
  • a plurality of projections are provided on both left and right side surfaces of the press-fit portion 11 C. If the press-fit portion 11 C is press-fit into a rear end part of the cavity 10 E, the respective projections bite into both side surfaces of a rear end part of the cavity 10 E to be locked and the terminal fitting 11 is retained and held in the connector housing 10 .
  • the terminal body 11 A of the terminal fitting 11 is facing the board accommodation space S 1 .
  • the peg 12 is made of metal. As shown in FIG. 2 , the peg 12 is in the form of a flat plate as a whole. One peg 12 is mounted along the left or right side surface of the connector housing 10 on each of both left and right sides of the board accommodation space S 1 . A lower end part of the peg 12 is bent to horizontally extend so as to be easily soldered to the pattern formed on a surface of the unillustrated board. In this way, the connector housing 10 is held mounted on the surface of the board via the pegs 12 .
  • the peg 12 includes press-fit portions 12 D on front and rear ends (see FIG. 1 ).
  • the pegs 12 are mounted on both left and right side surfaces of the connector housing 10 by press-fitting the press-fit portions 12 D into groove portions 10 K formed in both left and right surface parts of the connector housing 10 from above. These pegs 12 are line-symmetrically shaped via a lateral center of the connector housing 10 .
  • Each peg 12 includes a plurality of locked portions 12 B.
  • Each locked portion 12 B of each peg 12 extends in the front-rear direction and a lower side thereof is cut and raised laterally outward.
  • the plurality of locked portions 12 B are arranged one above the other on an upper side of each peg 12 .
  • the retainer 13 is integrally formed, such as by bending a metal plate of stainless steel or the like.
  • the retainer 13 includes a retainer body 13 A in the form of a rectangular flat plate as a whole and locking portions 13 B respectively provided on both ends of the retainer body 13 in the arrangement direction of the cavities 10 E.
  • the retainer body 13 A is formed with a plurality of through holes 13 G arranged side by side in a longitudinal direction and penetrating in a plate thickness direction.
  • the respective through holes 13 G correspond to the plurality of projecting portions 10 G of the connector housing 10 . With the retainer 13 mounted on the connector housing 10 , the projecting portions 10 G are inserted in the respective through holes 13 G (see FIG. 2 ).
  • Each locking portion 13 B includes an inner wall portion 13 C, an upper wall portion 13 D, an outer wall portion 13 E and a locking body 13 F.
  • the inner wall portions 13 C are bent to extend upward from the both ends in the longitudinal direction of the retainer body 13 A.
  • the upper wall portions 13 D extend laterally outward from the tips of the respective inner wall portions 13 C.
  • the outer wall portions 13 E hang down from the tips of the respective upper wall portions 13 D.
  • the locking bodies 13 F extend laterally inward from the lower ends of the respective outer wall portions 13 E.
  • the respective locking bodies 13 F are located lower than the retainer body 13 A.
  • the retainer 13 is so mounted on the connector housing 10 that the retainer body 13 A and the inner wall portions 13 C are arranged in the board accommodation space S 1 .
  • the respective outer wall portions 13 E are arranged to cover the locked portions 12 B of the pegs 12 from laterally outer sides.
  • the locking bodies 13 F are locked to the lower ends of the upper or lower locked portions 12 B from below.
  • the retainer 13 is mounted on the connector housing 10 via the pegs 12 .
  • the locking bodies 13 F are locked to the lower ends of the respective upper locked portions 12 B from below. If the flexible board 30 is arranged in the board accommodation space S 1 , the locking bodies 13 F are locked to the lower ends of the respective lower locked portions 12 B from below.
  • the flexible board 30 has flexibility and is configured to be deformable and, even if being deformed, maintain electrical characteristics.
  • a reinforcement plate (not shown) is adhered to the upper surface of an end part 30 A of the flexible board 30 to be inserted into the connector housing 10 , and the plurality of electrodes 30 B extending in the front-rear direction and arranged in parallel to each other are provided in an exposed manner on the lower surface of the end part 30 A.
  • a plurality of insertion holes 30 C which are insertion portions formed by cutting between adjacent ones of the electrodes 30 B, are formed to penetrate through the flexible board 30 .
  • the respective insertion holes 30 C correspond to the plurality of projecting portions 10 G of the connector housing 10 . With the end part 30 A of the flexible board 30 inserted in the connector housing 10 , the projecting portions 10 G are inserted through the respective insertion holes 30 C (see FIG. 2 ).
  • the end part 30 A of the flexible board 30 is inserted into the slit 10 D of the board insertion portion 10 B. Then, the end part 30 A contacts the inclined surfaces 10 H formed on the projecting portions 10 G of the connector housing 10 . If being further inserted, the end part 30 A is lifted up by the inclined surfaces 10 H formed on the projecting portions 10 G. If the end part 30 A is further inserted, the respective projecting portions 10 G are inserted through the respective insertion holes 30 C and the lifted-up end part 30 A moves down to return to an initial posture (see FIG. 2 ). At this time, the respective electrodes 30 B of the end part 30 A contact the spring pieces 11 E of the respective terminal bodies 11 A.
  • the flexible board 30 includes the plurality of electrodes 30 B to be individually connected to the plurality of terminal fittings 11 .
  • the end part 30 A is arranged in the board accommodation space S 1 .
  • the retainer 13 is in a second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12 and in a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board 30 .
  • the retainer 13 is set in a pressing state for pressing the flexible board 30 toward the terminal fittings 11 .
  • the locking bodies 13 F are locked to the lower ends of the respective lower locked portions 12 B from below (see FIG. 2 ).
  • the end part 30 A of the flexible board 30 is pressed in a direction toward the terminal fittings 11 by the retainer body 13 A.
  • the end part 30 A of the flexible board 30 is slightly lifted up by the spring pieces 11 E and the lifted-up end part 30 A is pressed downward by the retainer body 13 A. That is, the terminal fittings 11 are provided with the spring pieces 11 E for resiliently pressing the flexible board 30 and bringing the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 11 into contact when the retainer 13 is in the pressing state.
  • the projecting portions 10 G of the connector housing 10 are inserted into the through holes 13 G of the retainer 13 A (see FIG. 2 ).
  • the retainer 13 is in a first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12 and in the pressing state for pressing the flexible board 30 . That is, the retainer 13 sandwiches and holds the flexible board 30 arranged in the board accommodation space S 1 between the terminal fittings 11 and the retainer 13 .
  • a state where the projecting portions 10 G of the connector housing 10 are inserted through the insertion holes 30 C of the flexible board 30 is maintained by the retainer 13 (see FIG. 2 ).
  • the flexible board 30 is restricted from coming out from the connector housing 10 .
  • Creepage distances between adjacent ones of the electrodes 30 B of the flexible board 30 are secured by the projecting portions 10 G inserted through the insertion holes 30 C (see FIG. 2 ).
  • the connector 1 of this embodiment includes the connector housing 10 , the terminal fittings 11 and the retainer 13 .
  • the connector housing 10 includes the board accommodation space S 1 .
  • the terminal fittings 11 are mounted into the connector housing 10 to face the board accommodation space S 1 .
  • the retainer 13 sandwiches and holds the flexible board 30 arranged in the board accommodation space S 1 between the terminal fittings 11 and the retainer 13 .
  • a state of the retainer 13 changes to the pressing state for pressing the flexible board 30 toward the terminal fittings 11 and the non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board 30 .
  • the retainer 13 is made of metal.
  • the connector 1 of the present disclosure is provided with the spring pieces 11 E for resiliently pressing the flexible board 30 and bringing the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 11 into contact when the retainer 13 is in the pressing state.
  • the connector housing 10 of the connector 1 of the present disclosure is provided with the plurality of terminal fittings 11 , and the plurality of spring pieces 11 E are arranged to respectively correspond to the plurality of terminal fittings 11 .
  • the connector housing 10 of the connector 1 of the present disclosure includes the wall portions 10 F partitioning between adjacent ones of the terminal fittings 11 .
  • the flexible board 30 includes the plurality of electrodes 30 B to be individually connected to the plurality of terminal fittings 11 .
  • the flexible board 30 is formed with the insertion holes 30 C by cutting between adjacent ones of the electrodes 30 B, and the projecting portions 10 G of the wall portions 10 F are inserted through the insertion holes 30 C.
  • the creepage distances between adjacent ones of the electrodes 30 B formed on the flexible board 30 can be secured by the projecting portions 10 G of the wall portions 10 F.
  • the spring piece 11 E of the connector 1 of the present disclosure is integrally provided to the terminal fitting 11 .
  • the spring piece 11 E is integrally provided in the terminal fitting 11 constituting the configuration for sandwiching the flexible board 30 , the number of components can be reduced as compared to the case where the spring piece 11 E is provided separately.
  • the pegs 12 for holding the connector housing 10 mounted on the board are mounted on the connector housing 10 of the connector 1 of the present disclosure.
  • the retainer 13 is in the pressing state when being in the first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12 and is in the non-pressing state when being in the second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12 .
  • a material of the pegs 12 can be different from that of the connector housing 10 . Since this enables the selection of a material, which is not worn or deformed even if the retainer 13 made of metal is locked, as the material of the pegs 12 , the retainer 13 can be reliably held in the pressing state.
  • a connector 2 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 .
  • the connector 2 according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that terminal fittings 21 are strip-like and that a retainer 23 is provided with a spring piece 23 C serving as a resilient pressing piece.
  • the same components as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference signs and the structures, functions and effects thereof are not described.
  • a side on which a flexible board 30 is inserted into a connector housing 20 (left side in FIG. 6 ) is referred to as a front side concerning a front-rear direction
  • upper and lower sides in FIG. 6 are defined as upper and lower sides concerning a vertical direction.
  • Left and right sides in FIG. 5 are defined as left and right sides concerning a lateral direction.
  • the terminal fitting 21 is made of metal. As shown in FIG. 6 , the terminal fitting 21 is strip-like and formed to extend in the front-rear direction as a whole. A front side of the terminal fitting 21 is a terminal body 21 A and a rear side thereof is a board connecting portion 21 B. The terminal body 21 A is arranged to be higher than the board connecting portion 21 B. The terminal body 21 A is arranged along the bottom surface of a board accommodation space S 2 . The terminal body 21 A is arranged to face the board accommodation space S 2 . The front end of the terminal body 21 A is facing the rear end of a slit 20 D of a board insertion portion 20 B. The terminal body 21 A includes an embossed portion 21 F formed into a curved surface convex upward by being struck.
  • the embossed portion 21 F comes into point contact with an electrode 30 B of the flexible board 30 (see FIG. 5 ).
  • the terminal body 21 A and the board connecting portion 21 B are coupled by an intermediate portion 21 C.
  • the intermediate portion 21 C is inclined downward toward the board connecting portion 21 B from the rear end of the terminal body 21 A.
  • a press-fit portion 21 D is provided in a rear end part of the terminal body 21 A. If the press-fit portion 21 D is press-fit into a rear end part of a cavity 20 E, the terminal fitting 21 is retained and held in the connector housing 20 by the press-fit portion 21 D.
  • the retainer 23 includes a retainer body 23 A, locking portions 23 B and the spring piece 23 C serving as a resilient pressing piece.
  • the retainer body 23 A is in the form of a rectangular flat plate extending in the lateral direction as a whole.
  • the respective locking portions 23 B hang down on both ends of the retainer body 23 A in an arrangement direction of the cavities 20 E.
  • Locking bodies 23 D extending laterally inward are provided on the lower ends of the respective locking portions 23 B.
  • the spring piece 23 C is folded from the front end edge of the retainer body 23 A, extends toward a rear end and is arranged below the retainer body 23 A (see FIG. 6 ).
  • a central part in the front-rear direction of the spring piece 23 C is curved downward (see FIG. 6 ).
  • the retainer 23 is mounted on the connector housing 20 to cover an upper side of the board accommodation space S 2 by the retainer body 23 A.
  • the respective locking portions 23 B are arranged to cover locked portions 12 B of pegs 12 from laterally outer sides.
  • the locking bodies 23 D are locked to the lower ends of the upper or lower locked portions 12 B from below.
  • the retainer 23 is mounted on the connector housing 20 via the pegs 12 .
  • the connection of the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 21 is described.
  • the locking bodies 23 F of the retainer 23 are locked to the lower ends of the respective upper locked portions 12 B from below.
  • the retainer 23 is in a second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12 .
  • the end part 30 A of the flexible board 30 is inserted into the slit 20 D of the board insertion portion 20 B.
  • the respective embossed portions 21 F contact the respective electrodes 30 B of the end part 30 A.
  • the end part 30 A is further inserted while maintaining a state where the respective embossed portions 21 F are in contact with the respective electrodes 30 B.
  • the retainer 23 is set in a pressing state.
  • the locking bodies 23 D are locked to the lower ends of the respective lower locked portions 12 B from below (see FIG. 5 ).
  • the spring piece 23 C of the retainer 23 contacts the upper surface (surface to which a reinforcement plate is adhered) of the end part 30 A, and is deflected in a direction toward the retainer body 23 A. That is, the flexible board 30 is pressed in such a direction that the end part 30 A of the flexible board 30 approaches the terminal fittings 21 by the spring piece 23 C of the retainer 23 .
  • the retainer 23 is provided with the spring piece 23 C for resiliently pressing the flexible board 30 and bringing the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 21 into contact when the retainer 23 is in the pressing state. At this time, the retainer 23 is in a first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12 and in the pressing state for pressing the flexible board 30 .
  • the connector 2 of the present disclosure is provided with the spring piece 23 C for resiliently pressing the flexible board 30 and bringing the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 21 into contact when the retainer 23 is in the pressing state.
  • the flexible board 30 can be reliably brought into conduction with the terminal fittings 21 by the spring piece 23 C.
  • the spring piece 23 C of the connector 2 of the present disclosure is integrally provided to the retainer 23 .
  • the spring piece 23 C is integrally provided in the retainer 23 constituting a configuration for sandwiching the flexible board 30 , the number of components can be reduced as compared to the case where the spring piece 23 C is provided separately.
  • a connector 3 according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 .
  • the connector 3 according to the third embodiment is different from the first and embodiments in the form of a connector housing 40 , the form of pegs 22 , the form of terminal fittings 31 , the form of a retainer 33 , the form of a flexible board 130 and the like.
  • a side on which the flexible board 130 is pulled out from the connector housing 40 (left side in FIG. 9 ) is referred to as a front side concerning a front-rear direction
  • upper and lower sides in FIG. 9 are defined as upper and lower sides concerning a vertical direction.
  • Left and right sides in FIG. 8 are defined as left and right sides concerning a lateral direction.
  • the connector housing 40 includes a terminal holding portion 40 A having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a board arranging portion 40 B formed in front of the terminal holding portion 40 A.
  • the terminal holding portion 40 A includes cavities 40 E (see FIG. 9 ). Wall portions 40 F partitioning between adjacent ones of the cavities 40 E are provided between the adjacent cavities 40 E (see FIG. 8 ). Each side forming the upper end surface of each wall portion 40 F is chamfered (see FIG. 8 ).
  • a board accommodation space S 3 includes a region where upper sides of the cavities 40 E are open and a region above the board arranging portion 40 B. In the board accommodation space S 3 , the front end of each wall portion 40 F is located in a central part in the front-rear direction of the board accommodation space S 3 .
  • the bottom surface of the board arranging portion 40 B and the bottom surfaces of the cavities 40 A are formed to be flush (see FIG. 9 ).
  • Side wall portions 40 H standing upward are provided on both left and right sides of the board accommodation space S 3 (see FIG. 8 ).
  • the peripheral edges of the upper end surfaces of the side wall portions 40 H are chamfered (see FIG. 8 ).
  • Two bosses 40 D projecting upward are provided side by side in an arrangement direction of the cavities 40 E in front of the wall portions 40 F of the board accommodation space S 3 (see FIG. 7 ). These bosses 40 D have the same outer diameter.
  • the terminal fitting 31 is made of metal. As shown in FIG. 9 , the terminal fitting 31 is strip-like and formed to extend in a front-rear direction as a whole. A front side of the terminal fitting 31 is a terminal body 31 A and a rear side thereof is a board connecting portion 31 B. The terminal body 31 A is arranged to be higher than the board connecting portion 31 B. The terminal body 31 A is arranged along the bottom surface of a board accommodation space S 3 . The terminal body 31 A is arranged to face the board accommodation space S 3 . The front end of the terminal body 31 A is located rearward of the front ends of the wall portions 40 F. The terminal body 31 A and the board connecting portion 31 B are coupled by an intermediate portion 31 C.
  • the intermediate portion 31 C is inclined downward toward the board connecting portion 31 B from the rear end of the terminal body 31 A.
  • a press-fit portion 31 D is provided in a rear end part of the terminal body 31 A. If the press-fit portion 31 D is press-fit into a rear end part of a cavity 40 E, the terminal fitting 31 is retained and held in the connector housing 40 by the press-fit portion 31 D.
  • the peg 32 is made of metal. As shown in FIG. 8 , the peg 32 is in the form of a flat plate as a whole. One peg 32 is mounted along the left or right side surface of the connector housing 40 on each of both left and right sides of the board accommodation space S 3 . A lower end part of the peg 32 is provided with a plurality of projections 32 F to be inserted through through holes formed in an unillustrated board. In this way, the connector housing 40 is fixed to a surface of the board via the pegs 32 .
  • the peg 32 includes a press-fit portion 32 D on each of front and rear ends (see FIG. 7 ).
  • the pegs 32 are mounted on both left and right side surfaces of the connector housing 40 by press-fitting the press-fit portions 32 D into groove portions 40 K respectively formed in both left and right side surface parts of the connector housing 40 .
  • Each peg 32 includes one locked portion 32 B. With each peg 32 mounted on the connector housing 40 , each locked portion 32 B extends in the front-rear direction and a lower side thereof is cut and raised laterally outward.
  • the retainer 33 includes a retainer body 33 A, a plurality of locking portions 33 B and a plurality of spring pieces 33 C serving as resilient pressing pieces.
  • the retainer body 33 A is in the form of a rectangular flat plate as a whole.
  • a recess 33 G depressed downward is formed on a front side of the retainer body 33 A (see FIG. 9 ).
  • the recess 33 G is formed with two through holes 33 H arranged side by side in the arrangement direction of the cavities 40 E (see FIG. 7 ). These through holes 33 H have the same inner diameter. These through holes 33 H correspond to the bosses 40 D.
  • the respective locking portions 33 are provided to hang down on both ends of the retainer body 33 A in the arrangement direction of the cavities 40 E.
  • a locking body 33 D extending laterally inward is provided on the lower end of each locking portion 33 B.
  • each spring piece 33 C is folded from the rear end of an opening formed in a central part in the front-rear direction of the retainer body 33 A, extends toward a rear end and is arranged below the retainer body 33 A.
  • Each spring piece 33 C corresponds to each terminal fitting 31 .
  • the spring piece 33 C is inclined downward to the rear.
  • a tip side of the spring piece 33 C is bent toward the retainer body 33 A and folded to extend forward.
  • a base end side of the spring piece 33 C includes an embossed portion 33 F formed into a curved surface convex downward by being struck. The embossed portion 33 F comes into point contact with a surface of an end part 130 A of the flexible board 130 to which a reinforcement plate is adhered.
  • the retainer 23 is mounted on the connector housing 40 to cover an upper side of the board accommodation space S 3 by the retainer body 33 A.
  • the respective locking portions 33 B are arranged to cover the locked portions 32 B of the pegs 32 from laterally outer sides.
  • the locking bodies 33 D are locked to the lower ends of the locked portions 32 B from below.
  • the retainer 33 is mounted on the connector housing 40 via the pegs 32 .
  • the retainer 33 is not mounted on the connector housing 40 . If the end part 130 A is arranged in the board accommodation space S 3 , the locking bodies 33 F are locked to the lower ends of the respective locked portions 32 B from below.
  • the reinforcement plate (not shown) is adhered to the upper surface of the end part 130 A of the flexible board 130 arranged in the connector housing 40 .
  • a plurality of electrodes 130 B are provided in an exposed manner on the lower surface of the flexible board 130 . These electrodes 130 B extend in the front-rear direction and are arranged in parallel to each other. Slits 130 C serving as insertion portions are formed between adjacent ones of the electrodes 130 B on the end part 130 A.
  • the end part 130 A is formed such that a plurality of strip-like shapes are arranged in the lateral direction by these slits 130 C (not shown). Each slit 130 C corresponds to each of the plurality of wall portions 40 F of the connector housing 40 .
  • the wall portions 40 F are inserted through the respective slits 130 C with the end part 130 A arranged in the board accommodation space S 3 .
  • Two insertion holes 130 D are formed side by side in a width direction of the flexible board 130 in front of the end part 130 A (see FIG. 9 ). Note that only one insertion hole 130 D is shown in FIG. 9 . These insertion holes 130 D have the same inner diameter. These insertion holes 130 D respectively correspond to the two bosses 40 D.
  • the retainer 33 is not mounted on the connector housing 40 .
  • the retainer 33 is in a second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 32 and in a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board 130 .
  • the end part 130 A of the flexible board 130 is arranged in the board accommodation space S 3 .
  • the respective bosses 40 D are inserted through the respective insertion holes 130 D and the wall portions 40 F are inserted through the respective slits 130 C.
  • the retainer 33 is mounted on the connector housing 40 and set in a pressing state. Specifically, the respective bosses 40 D are inserted through the respective through holes 33 H and the respective spring pieces 33 C are arranged between the respective wall portions 40 F. Then, the locking bodies 33 D of the retainer 33 are locked to the lower ends of the respective locked portions 32 B of the pegs 32 from below (see FIG. 8 ). Then, the respective spring pieces 33 C of the retainer 33 contact the upper surface (surface to which the reinforcement plate is adhered) of the end part 130 A having the respective electrodes 130 B arranged thereon, and are deflected in a direction toward the retainer body 33 A.
  • the embossed portions 33 F come into point contact with the upper surface of the end part 130 A.
  • the retainer 33 is in a first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 32 and in the pressing state for pressing the flexible board 130 .
  • a state where the bosses 40 D of the connector housing 40 are inserted through the insertion holes 130 D of the flexible board 130 is held by the retainer 33 (see FIG. 9 ).
  • the flexible board 130 is restricted from coming out from the connector housing 40 .
  • the connector housing 40 of the connector 3 of the present disclosure includes the wall portions 40 F partitioning between adjacent ones of the terminal fittings 31 .
  • the flexible board 130 includes the plurality of electrodes 130 B to be individually connected to the plurality of terminal fittings 31 .
  • the flexible board 130 is formed with the slits 130 C by cutting between adjacent ones of the electrodes 130 B, and the wall portions 40 F are inserted through the insertion holes 130 C.
  • creepage distances between adjacent ones of the electrodes 130 B formed on the flexible board 130 can be secured by the wall portions 40 F.
  • the pegs 32 for holding the connector housing 40 mounted on the board are mounted on the connector housing 40 of the connector 3 of the present disclosure.
  • the retainer 33 is in the pressing state when being in the first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 32 and is in the non-pressing state when being in the second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 32 .
  • the pegs 32 are separate from the connector housing 40 , a material of the pegs 32 can be different from that of the connector housing 40 . Since this enables the selection of a material, which is not worn or deformed even if the retainer 33 made of metal is mounted, as the material of the pegs 32 , the retainer 33 can be reliably held in the pressing state.
  • a connector 4 according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12 .
  • the connector 4 according to the fourth embodiment is different from the first to third embodiments in that a retainer 43 is mounted rotatably with respect to pegs 42 and that long holes 230 C serving as insertion portions are formed between adjacent ones of electrodes 230 B of a flexible board 230 .
  • the same components as in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference signs and the structures, functions and effects thereof are not described.
  • a side on which the flexible board 230 is pulled out from a connector housing 50 (left side in FIG. 12 ) is referred to as a front side concerning a front-rear direction
  • upper and lower sides in FIG. 12 are defined as upper and lower sides concerning a vertical direction.
  • Left and right sides in FIG. 11 are defined as left and right sides concerning a lateral direction.
  • the connector housing 50 includes a terminal holding portion 50 A having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a board arranging portion 50 B formed in front of the terminal holding portion 50 A.
  • the terminal holding portion 50 A includes cavities 50 E (see FIG. 12 ).
  • a board accommodation space S 4 open on an upper side is formed on front sides of the cavities 50 E.
  • the board accommodation space S 4 includes a region where upper sides of the cavities 50 E are open and a region above the board arranging portion 50 B.
  • wall portions 50 F partitioning between adjacent ones of the cavities 50 E are provided between the adjacent cavities 50 E (see FIG. 11 ).
  • the front end of each wall portion 50 F is located on the front end of the board accommodation space S 4 (i.e. front end of the board arranging portion 50 B) (see FIG. 12 ).
  • Side wall portions 50 H standing upward are provided on both left and right sides of the board accommodation space S 4 (see FIG. 11 ).
  • a terminal body 21 A is arranged along the bottom surface of the board accommodation space S 4 .
  • the terminal body 21 A is arranged to face the board accommodation space S 4 .
  • the front end of the terminal body 21 A is located in a central part in the front-rear direction of the board accommodation space S 4 .
  • An embossed portion 21 F comes into point contact with the electrode 230 B of the flexible board 230 .
  • a lower end part of the peg 42 is provided with a plurality of projections 42 F to be inserted through through holes formed in an unillustrated board.
  • the pegs 42 are mounted on both left and right side surfaces of the connector housing 50 by press-fitting press-fit portions 42 D into groove portions 50 K respectively formed in both left and right side surface parts of the connector housing 50 from above (see FIG. 10 ).
  • Each peg 42 includes two locked portions 42 B (see FIG. 10 ).
  • Each locked portion 42 B extends in the front-rear direction and a lower part thereof is cut and raised laterally outward.
  • the two locked portions 42 B are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction.
  • a through hole 42 C is formed to penetrate between the two locked portions 42 B of each peg 42 (see FIG. 10 ).
  • the retainer 43 includes a retainer body 43 A, a plurality of locking portions 43 B, a plurality of spring pieces 43 C serving as resilient pressing pieces and a plurality of shaft portions 43 E.
  • the retainer body 43 A is in the form of a rectangular flat plate as a whole.
  • the respective locking portions 43 B are provided to hang down on both ends of the retainer body 43 A in an arrangement direction of the cavities 50 E.
  • a locking body 43 D extending laterally inward is provided on the lower end of each locking portion 43 B.
  • each spring piece 43 C is folded from the front end of the retainer body 43 A, extends toward a rear end and is arranged below the retainer body 43 A.
  • Each spring piece 43 C corresponds to each terminal fitting 21 .
  • a tip side of the spring piece 43 C is bent toward the retainer body 43 A and fold to extend forward.
  • a base end side of the spring piece 43 C includes an embossed portion 43 F formed into a curved surface convex downward by being struck.
  • the respective shaft portions 43 E are provided on the respective locking portions 43 B.
  • the respective shaft portions 43 E are locked to the pegs 42 .
  • Each shaft portion 43 E is bent into a tubular shape projecting laterally inward from each locking portion 43 B.
  • the outer shape of each shaft portion 43 E is slightly smaller than an inner diameter of the through hole 42 C of the peg 42 .
  • the retainer 43 is mounted on the connector housing 50 by inserting the respective shaft portions 43 E through the through holes 42 C of the pegs 42 from laterally outer sides.
  • the retainer 43 is mounted on the connector housing 50 via the pegs 42 .
  • the retainer 43 is in such a state that the locking bodies 43 D are not locked to the locked portions 42 B with the shaft portions 43 E inserted through the through holes 42 C of the pegs 42 .
  • the retainer 43 is rotatable about the shaft portions 43 E.
  • the retainer 43 is in a second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 42 and in a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board 230 .
  • the locking bodies 43 D of the retainer body 43 A are locked to the lower ends of the respective locked portions 42 B located on front sides of the pegs 42 from below by rotating the retainer 43 about the shaft portions 43 E.
  • the retainer 43 is in a first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 42 and in a pressing state for pressing the flexible board 230 .
  • the plurality of electrodes 230 B are provided in an exposed manner on the lower surface of the flexible board 230 . These electrodes 230 B extend in the front-rear direction and are arranged in parallel to each other. Long holes 230 C extending in the front-rear direction are formed to penetrate between adjacent ones of the electrodes 230 B on the end part 230 A of the flexible board 230 . The long hole 230 C corresponds to each of the plurality of wall portions 50 F of the connector housing 50 . The wall portions 50 F are inserted in the respective long holes 230 C with the end part 230 A arranged in the board accommodation space S 4 .
  • the connection of the flexible board 230 and the terminal fittings 21 is described.
  • the retainer 43 is in the non-pressing state where the locking bodies 43 D are not locked to the locked portions 42 B with the shaft portions 43 E inserted through the through holes 42 C of the pegs 42 .
  • the end part 230 A of the flexible board 230 is arranged in the board accommodation space S 4 .
  • the respective wall portions 50 F are inserted through the respective long holes 230 C.
  • the retainer 43 is set in the pressing state. Specifically, the retainer body 43 A is brought closer to the board accommodation space S 4 by rotating the retainer 43 about the shaft portions 43 E with the shaft portions 43 E inserted through the through holes 42 C of the pegs 42 . Then, the locking bodies 43 D are locked to the lower ends of the respective locked portions 42 B located on the front sides of the pegs 42 from below. At this time, the respective spring pieces 43 C are arranged between the respective wall portions 50 F (see FIG. 11 ).
  • the respective spring pieces 43 C contact the upper surface (surface to which a reinforcement plate is adhered) of the end part 230 A having the respective electrodes 230 B arranged thereon, and are deflected in a direction toward the retainer body 43 A.
  • the embossed portions 43 F come into point contact with the upper surface of the end part 230 A.
  • the retainer 43 rotates about the shaft portions 43 E and the state thereof changes to the pressing state and the non-pressing state.
  • the retainer 43 is set in the pressing state for pressing the flexible board 230 .
  • the flexible board 230 is in such a state as to hold the inserted state of the wall portions 50 F in the long holes 230 C by the retainer 43 (see FIG. 11 ).
  • the flexible board 230 is restricted from coming out from the connector housing 50 .
  • the retainer 43 of the connector 4 of the present disclosure includes the shaft portions 43 E to be locked to the pegs 42 , and the retainer 43 rotates about the shaft portions 43 E to change the state thereof to the pressing state and the non-pressing state.
  • the state of the retainer 43 can be easily changed from the non-pressing state to the pressing state without performing an operation of positioning the retainer 43 with respect to the connector housing 50 .
  • the first arrangement state is a state where the locking bodies of the retainer are locked to the lower locked portions of the pegs and the second arrangement state is a state where the locking bodies of the retainer are locked to the upper locked portions of the pegs.
  • the second arrangement state may be a state where the retainer is removed from the pegs.
  • the resilient pressing pieces may be provided in both the retainer and the terminal fittings.

Landscapes

  • Coupling Device And Connection With Printed Circuit (AREA)
  • Details Of Connecting Devices For Male And Female Coupling (AREA)
  • Connector Housings Or Holding Contact Members (AREA)

Abstract

It is aimed to provide a connector capable of satisfactorily holding a board even in a high-temperature and high-humidity atmosphere. A connector is provided with a connector housing including a board accommodation space, a terminal fitting mounted in the connector housing to face the board accommodation space, and a retainer for sandwiching and holding a flexible board arranged in the board accommodation space between the terminal fitting and the retainer. A state of the retainer changes to a pressing state for pressing the flexible board toward the terminal fitting and a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board. The retainer is made of metal.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a national phase of PCT application No. PCT/JP2020/045364, filed on 7 Dec. 2020, which claims priority from Japanese patent application No. 2019-237964, filed on 27 Dec. 2019, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates to a connector.
BACKGROUND
Patent Document 1 discloses a connector in which a first connection terminal and a second connection terminal corresponding to the first connection terminal are mounted on a base. The first connection terminal includes an operation contact piece having an operation receiving portion on one end and a movable contact point adjacent to the second connection terminal on the other end. The base is provided with an operation lever for pushing up the operation receiving portion by an operation cam by being operated. In this connector, by operating the operation lever, the operation receiving portion located on one side across a coupling portion is pushed up by the operation cam and the movable contact point on the other side across the coupling portion approaches the second connection terminal. In this way, FPCs (Flexible Printed Circuits) are sandwiched and held by the movable contact point and the second connection terminal.
PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent Document
    • Patent Document 1: JP 2008-305621 A
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved
In the configuration of Patent Document 1, for example, if a plurality of first connection terminals are arranged side by side, the operation cam (operation lever) configured to contact the first connection terminals needs to be, for example, made of a nonconductive material such as a synthetic resin. In this case, if this connector is exposed to a high-temperature and high-humidity atmosphere for a long period of time, the operation cam may be gradually deformed by a reaction force of the pushed-up operation receiving portion and a force for holding the FPCs may become weak.
Accordingly, the present disclosure aims to provide a connector capable of satisfactorily holding a board even in a high-temperature and high-humidity atmosphere.
Means to Solve the Problem
The present disclosure is directed to a connector with a connector housing including a board accommodation space, a terminal fitting mounted in the connector housing to face the board accommodation space, and a retainer for sandwiching and holding a flexible board arranged in the board accommodation space between the terminal fitting and the retainer, wherein a state of the retainer changes to a pressing state for pressing the flexible board toward the terminal fitting and a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board, and the retainer is made of metal.
Effect of the Invention
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a connector capable of satisfactorily holding a board even in a high-temperature and high-humidity atmosphere.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state where a flexible board is arranged in a board accommodation space and a retainer is in a pressing state in a connector of a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a section along A-A in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a section along B-B in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where a flexible board is arranged in a board accommodation space and a retainer is in a pressing state in a connector of a second embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a section along C-C in FIG. 4 .
FIG. 6 is a section along D-D in FIG. 4 .
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where a flexible board is arranged in a board accommodation space and a retainer is in a pressing state in a connector of a third embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a section along E-E in FIG. 7 .
FIG. 9 is a section along F-F in FIG. 7 .
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state where a flexible board is arranged in a board accommodation space and a retainer is in a pressing state in a connector of a fourth embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a section along G-G in FIG. 10 .
FIG. 12 is a section along H-H in FIG. 10 .
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION TO EXECUTE THE INVENTION Description of Embodiments of Present Disclosure
First, embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.
(1) The connector of the present disclosure is provided with a connector housing including a board accommodation space, a terminal fitting mounted in the connector housing to face the board accommodation space, and a retainer for sandwiching and holding a flexible board arranged in the board accommodation space between the terminal fitting and the retainer, wherein a state of the retainer changes to a pressing state for pressing the flexible board toward the terminal fitting and a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board, and the retainer is made of metal.
According to the configuration of the present disclosure, since the retainer is made of metal, the retainer is less likely to be deformed even if this connector is exposed to a high-temperature and high-humidity atmosphere for a long period of time.
(2) Preferably, the connector of the present disclosure is provided with a resilient pressing piece for resiliently pressing the flexible board and bringing the flexible board and the terminal fitting into contact when the retainer is in the pressing state.
According to this configuration, even if a dimension between the flexible board and the terminal fitting varies, the flexible board and the terminal fitting can be reliably brought into conduction by the resilient pressing piece.
(3) Preferably, a plurality of the terminal fittings are provided in the connector housing of the connector of the present disclosure, and a plurality of the resilient pressing pieces are arranged to respectively correspond to the plurality of terminal fittings.
According to this configuration, even if positional relationships of the plurality of terminal fittings with a board vary, a connected state of each terminal fitting and the board can be satisfactorily established by the resilient pressing piece corresponding to each terminal fitting.
(4) Preferably, the connector housing of the connector of the present disclosure includes a wall portion partitioning between adjacent ones of the terminal fittings, the flexible board includes a plurality of patterns to be individually connected to the plurality of terminal fittings, the flexible board is formed with an insertion portion by cutting between adjacent ones of the patterns, and the wall portion is inserted through the insertion portion.
According to this configuration, a creepage distance between the adjacent patterns formed on the flexible board can be secured by the wall portion.
(5) Preferably, the resilient pressing piece of the connector of the present disclosure is provided in at least either one of the retainer and the terminal fitting.
According to this configuration, since the resilient pressing piece is provided in either one of components for sandwiching the flexible board, the number of components can be reduced as compared to the case where the resilient pressing piece is provided separately.
(6) Preferably, a peg for holding the connector housing mounted on a board is mounted on the connector housing, and the retainer is in the pressing state when being in a first arrangement state with respect to the peg and is in the non-pressing state when being in a second arrangement state with respect to the peg.
According to this configuration, since the peg is separate from the connector housing, a material of the peg can be different from that of the connector housing. Since this enables the selection of a material, which is not worn or deformed even if the retainer made of metal is mounted, as the material of the peg, the retainer can be reliably held in the pressing state.
(7) Preferably, the retainer of the connector of the present disclosure includes a shaft portion to be locked to the peg, and the state of the retainer changes to the pressing state and the non-pressing state by the retainer being rotated about the shaft portion.
According to this configuration, the state of the retainer can be easily changed from the non-pressing state to the pressing state without performing an operation of positioning the retainer with respect to the connector housing.
DETAILS OF EMBODIMENTS OF PRESENT DISCLOSURE First Embodiment
Hereinafter, a connector 1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 . The connector 1 according to the first embodiment includes a connector housing 10, terminal fittings 11, pegs 12 and a retainer 13. The connector 1 electrically connects a flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 11. Note that, in the following description, a side on which the flexible board 30 is inserted into the connector housing 10 (left side in FIG. 3 ) is referred to as a front side concerning a front-rear direction, and upper and lower sides in FIG. 3 are defined as upper and lower sides concerning a vertical direction. Left and right sides in FIG. 2 are defined as left and right sides concerning a lateral direction.
[Configuration of Connector]
The connector housing 10 is made of synthetic resin and includes a terminal holding portion 10A having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a board insertion portion 10B formed in front of the terminal holding portion 10A. The terminal holding portion 10A includes cavities 10E (see FIG. 3 ). A plurality of the cavities 10E extending in the front-rear direction are aligned and arranged in the lateral direction (see FIG. 2 ). The front end of each cavity 10E is closed. The terminal fitting 11 to be described later is inserted into each cavity 10E from behind. The connector housing 10 is provided with a plurality of the terminal fittings 11. A board accommodation space S1 open on an upper side is formed on front sides of the cavities 10E. In the first embodiment, the board accommodation space S1 is an open region above the cavities 10E. The connector housing 10 includes the board accommodation space S1.
In the board accommodation space S1, wall portions 10F partitioning between adjacent ones of the cavities 10E are provided between the adjacent cavities 10E (see FIG. 2 ). A projecting portion 10G projecting upward is provided in a central part in the front-rear direction of each wall portion 10F (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ). Each wall portion 10F functions to partition between adjacent ones of the terminal fittings 11. A front side of each projecting portion 10G is formed with an inclined surface 10H inclined downward to the front (see FIG. 1 ).
The board insertion portion 10B is formed with a slit 10D penetrating in the front-rear direction and long in an arrangement direction of the cavities 10E (see FIG. 3 ). The peripheral edge of the slit 10D on the front end of the board insertion portion 10B is chamfered (see FIG. 3 ).
The terminal fitting 11 is integrally formed, such as by bending an electrically conductive metal plate. As shown in FIG. 3 , the terminal fitting 11 is shaped to be elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole. The terminal fitting 11 includes a tubular terminal body 11A and a board connecting portion 11B connected behind the terminal body 11A via a press-fit portion 11C. The terminal body 11A includes a plate-like spring piece 11E, which is a resilient pressing piece. The spring piece 11E resiliently contacts an electrode 30B, which is a pattern formed on the flexible board 30 inserted through the board insertion portion 10B and arranged in the board accommodation space S. In this way, the spring piece 11E functions as a means for connecting the flexible board 30 and the terminal body 11 with a predetermined contact pressure. The spring piece 11E is folded from the front end edge of the terminal body 11A, extends toward a rear end and is accommodated in the terminal body 11A. A central part in the front-rear direction of the spring piece 11E is formed to project further upward than the upper surface of the terminal body 11A. That is, a plurality of the spring pieces 11E are arranged to respectively correspond to the plurality of terminal fittings 11.
The board connecting portion 11B is electrically connected to a pattern formed on an unillustrated board. The terminal fitting 11 includes the press-fit portion 11C between the terminal body 11A and the board connecting portion 11B. A plurality of projections (not shown) are provided on both left and right side surfaces of the press-fit portion 11C. If the press-fit portion 11C is press-fit into a rear end part of the cavity 10E, the respective projections bite into both side surfaces of a rear end part of the cavity 10E to be locked and the terminal fitting 11 is retained and held in the connector housing 10. The terminal body 11A of the terminal fitting 11 is facing the board accommodation space S1.
The peg 12 is made of metal. As shown in FIG. 2 , the peg 12 is in the form of a flat plate as a whole. One peg 12 is mounted along the left or right side surface of the connector housing 10 on each of both left and right sides of the board accommodation space S1. A lower end part of the peg 12 is bent to horizontally extend so as to be easily soldered to the pattern formed on a surface of the unillustrated board. In this way, the connector housing 10 is held mounted on the surface of the board via the pegs 12. The peg 12 includes press-fit portions 12D on front and rear ends (see FIG. 1 ). The pegs 12 are mounted on both left and right side surfaces of the connector housing 10 by press-fitting the press-fit portions 12D into groove portions 10K formed in both left and right surface parts of the connector housing 10 from above. These pegs 12 are line-symmetrically shaped via a lateral center of the connector housing 10.
Each peg 12 includes a plurality of locked portions 12B. Each locked portion 12B of each peg 12 extends in the front-rear direction and a lower side thereof is cut and raised laterally outward. The plurality of locked portions 12B are arranged one above the other on an upper side of each peg 12.
The retainer 13 is integrally formed, such as by bending a metal plate of stainless steel or the like. The retainer 13 includes a retainer body 13A in the form of a rectangular flat plate as a whole and locking portions 13B respectively provided on both ends of the retainer body 13 in the arrangement direction of the cavities 10E. The retainer body 13A is formed with a plurality of through holes 13G arranged side by side in a longitudinal direction and penetrating in a plate thickness direction. The respective through holes 13G correspond to the plurality of projecting portions 10G of the connector housing 10. With the retainer 13 mounted on the connector housing 10, the projecting portions 10G are inserted in the respective through holes 13G (see FIG. 2 ).
Each locking portion 13B includes an inner wall portion 13C, an upper wall portion 13D, an outer wall portion 13E and a locking body 13F. The inner wall portions 13C are bent to extend upward from the both ends in the longitudinal direction of the retainer body 13A. The upper wall portions 13D extend laterally outward from the tips of the respective inner wall portions 13C. The outer wall portions 13E hang down from the tips of the respective upper wall portions 13D. The locking bodies 13F extend laterally inward from the lower ends of the respective outer wall portions 13E. The respective locking bodies 13F are located lower than the retainer body 13A.
The retainer 13 is so mounted on the connector housing 10 that the retainer body 13A and the inner wall portions 13C are arranged in the board accommodation space S1. The respective outer wall portions 13E are arranged to cover the locked portions 12B of the pegs 12 from laterally outer sides. The locking bodies 13F are locked to the lower ends of the upper or lower locked portions 12B from below. The retainer 13 is mounted on the connector housing 10 via the pegs 12.
For example, if the flexible board 30 is not arranged in the board accommodation space S1, the locking bodies 13F are locked to the lower ends of the respective upper locked portions 12B from below. If the flexible board 30 is arranged in the board accommodation space S1, the locking bodies 13F are locked to the lower ends of the respective lower locked portions 12B from below.
(Configuration of Flexible Board)
An FPC board is adopted as the flexible board 30. The flexible board 30 has flexibility and is configured to be deformable and, even if being deformed, maintain electrical characteristics. For example, a reinforcement plate (not shown) is adhered to the upper surface of an end part 30A of the flexible board 30 to be inserted into the connector housing 10, and the plurality of electrodes 30B extending in the front-rear direction and arranged in parallel to each other are provided in an exposed manner on the lower surface of the end part 30A. A plurality of insertion holes 30C, which are insertion portions formed by cutting between adjacent ones of the electrodes 30B, are formed to penetrate through the flexible board 30. The respective insertion holes 30C correspond to the plurality of projecting portions 10G of the connector housing 10. With the end part 30A of the flexible board 30 inserted in the connector housing 10, the projecting portions 10G are inserted through the respective insertion holes 30C (see FIG. 2).
(Connection of Flexible Board and Terminal Fittings)
The connection of the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 11 is described. In a state before the end part 30A of the flexible board 30 is arranged in the board accommodation space S1, the locking bodies 13F of the retainer 13 are locked to the lower ends of the respective upper locked portions 12B from below.
Subsequently, the end part 30A of the flexible board 30 is inserted into the slit 10D of the board insertion portion 10B. Then, the end part 30A contacts the inclined surfaces 10H formed on the projecting portions 10G of the connector housing 10. If being further inserted, the end part 30A is lifted up by the inclined surfaces 10H formed on the projecting portions 10G. If the end part 30A is further inserted, the respective projecting portions 10G are inserted through the respective insertion holes 30C and the lifted-up end part 30A moves down to return to an initial posture (see FIG. 2 ). At this time, the respective electrodes 30B of the end part 30A contact the spring pieces 11E of the respective terminal bodies 11A. That is, the flexible board 30 includes the plurality of electrodes 30B to be individually connected to the plurality of terminal fittings 11. In this way, the end part 30A is arranged in the board accommodation space S1. At this time, the retainer 13 is in a second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12 and in a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board 30.
Subsequently, the retainer 13 is set in a pressing state for pressing the flexible board 30 toward the terminal fittings 11. Specifically, the locking bodies 13F are locked to the lower ends of the respective lower locked portions 12B from below (see FIG. 2 ). In this way, the end part 30A of the flexible board 30 is pressed in a direction toward the terminal fittings 11 by the retainer body 13A. Specifically, the end part 30A of the flexible board 30 is slightly lifted up by the spring pieces 11E and the lifted-up end part 30A is pressed downward by the retainer body 13A. That is, the terminal fittings 11 are provided with the spring pieces 11E for resiliently pressing the flexible board 30 and bringing the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 11 into contact when the retainer 13 is in the pressing state. At this time, the projecting portions 10G of the connector housing 10 are inserted into the through holes 13G of the retainer 13A (see FIG. 2 ). At this time, the retainer 13 is in a first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12 and in the pressing state for pressing the flexible board 30. That is, the retainer 13 sandwiches and holds the flexible board 30 arranged in the board accommodation space S1 between the terminal fittings 11 and the retainer 13. At this time, a state where the projecting portions 10G of the connector housing 10 are inserted through the insertion holes 30C of the flexible board 30 is maintained by the retainer 13 (see FIG. 2 ). Thus, the flexible board 30 is restricted from coming out from the connector housing 10.
Creepage distances between adjacent ones of the electrodes 30B of the flexible board 30 are secured by the projecting portions 10G inserted through the insertion holes 30C (see FIG. 2 ).
Next, functions and effects of the first embodiment are described.
The connector 1 of this embodiment includes the connector housing 10, the terminal fittings 11 and the retainer 13. The connector housing 10 includes the board accommodation space S1. The terminal fittings 11 are mounted into the connector housing 10 to face the board accommodation space S1. The retainer 13 sandwiches and holds the flexible board 30 arranged in the board accommodation space S1 between the terminal fittings 11 and the retainer 13. A state of the retainer 13 changes to the pressing state for pressing the flexible board 30 toward the terminal fittings 11 and the non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board 30. The retainer 13 is made of metal.
According to the configuration of the present disclosure, since the retainer 13 is made of metal, the retainer 13 is less likely to be deformed even if the connector 1 is exposed to a high-temperature and high-humidity atmosphere for a long period of time.
The connector 1 of the present disclosure is provided with the spring pieces 11E for resiliently pressing the flexible board 30 and bringing the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 11 into contact when the retainer 13 is in the pressing state.
According to this configuration, even if a dimension between the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 11 varies, the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 11 can be reliably brought into conduction by the spring pieces 11E.
The connector housing 10 of the connector 1 of the present disclosure is provided with the plurality of terminal fittings 11, and the plurality of spring pieces 11E are arranged to respectively correspond to the plurality of terminal fittings 11.
According to this configuration, even if positional relationships of the plurality of terminal fittings 11 with the flexible board 30 vary, a connected state of each terminal fitting 11 and the flexible board 30 can be satisfactorily established by the spring piece 11E corresponding to each terminal fitting 11.
The connector housing 10 of the connector 1 of the present disclosure includes the wall portions 10F partitioning between adjacent ones of the terminal fittings 11. The flexible board 30 includes the plurality of electrodes 30B to be individually connected to the plurality of terminal fittings 11. The flexible board 30 is formed with the insertion holes 30C by cutting between adjacent ones of the electrodes 30B, and the projecting portions 10G of the wall portions 10F are inserted through the insertion holes 30C.
According to this configuration, the creepage distances between adjacent ones of the electrodes 30B formed on the flexible board 30 can be secured by the projecting portions 10G of the wall portions 10F.
The spring piece 11E of the connector 1 of the present disclosure is integrally provided to the terminal fitting 11.
According to this configuration, since the spring piece 11E is integrally provided in the terminal fitting 11 constituting the configuration for sandwiching the flexible board 30, the number of components can be reduced as compared to the case where the spring piece 11E is provided separately.
The pegs 12 for holding the connector housing 10 mounted on the board are mounted on the connector housing 10 of the connector 1 of the present disclosure. The retainer 13 is in the pressing state when being in the first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12 and is in the non-pressing state when being in the second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12.
According to this configuration, since the pegs 12 are separate from the connector housing 10, a material of the pegs 12 can be different from that of the connector housing 10. Since this enables the selection of a material, which is not worn or deformed even if the retainer 13 made of metal is locked, as the material of the pegs 12, the retainer 13 can be reliably held in the pressing state.
Second Embodiment
A connector 2 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 . The connector 2 according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that terminal fittings 21 are strip-like and that a retainer 23 is provided with a spring piece 23C serving as a resilient pressing piece. The same components as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference signs and the structures, functions and effects thereof are not described. Note that, in the following description, a side on which a flexible board 30 is inserted into a connector housing 20 (left side in FIG. 6 ) is referred to as a front side concerning a front-rear direction, and upper and lower sides in FIG. 6 are defined as upper and lower sides concerning a vertical direction. Left and right sides in FIG. 5 are defined as left and right sides concerning a lateral direction.
The terminal fitting 21 is made of metal. As shown in FIG. 6 , the terminal fitting 21 is strip-like and formed to extend in the front-rear direction as a whole. A front side of the terminal fitting 21 is a terminal body 21A and a rear side thereof is a board connecting portion 21B. The terminal body 21A is arranged to be higher than the board connecting portion 21B. The terminal body 21A is arranged along the bottom surface of a board accommodation space S2. The terminal body 21A is arranged to face the board accommodation space S2. The front end of the terminal body 21A is facing the rear end of a slit 20D of a board insertion portion 20B. The terminal body 21A includes an embossed portion 21F formed into a curved surface convex upward by being struck. The embossed portion 21F comes into point contact with an electrode 30B of the flexible board 30 (see FIG. 5 ). The terminal body 21A and the board connecting portion 21B are coupled by an intermediate portion 21C. The intermediate portion 21C is inclined downward toward the board connecting portion 21B from the rear end of the terminal body 21A. A press-fit portion 21D is provided in a rear end part of the terminal body 21A. If the press-fit portion 21D is press-fit into a rear end part of a cavity 20E, the terminal fitting 21 is retained and held in the connector housing 20 by the press-fit portion 21D.
As shown in FIG. 5 , the retainer 23 includes a retainer body 23A, locking portions 23B and the spring piece 23C serving as a resilient pressing piece. The retainer body 23A is in the form of a rectangular flat plate extending in the lateral direction as a whole. The respective locking portions 23B hang down on both ends of the retainer body 23A in an arrangement direction of the cavities 20E. Locking bodies 23D extending laterally inward are provided on the lower ends of the respective locking portions 23B. The spring piece 23C is folded from the front end edge of the retainer body 23A, extends toward a rear end and is arranged below the retainer body 23A (see FIG. 6 ). A central part in the front-rear direction of the spring piece 23C is curved downward (see FIG. 6 ).
The retainer 23 is mounted on the connector housing 20 to cover an upper side of the board accommodation space S2 by the retainer body 23A. The respective locking portions 23B are arranged to cover locked portions 12B of pegs 12 from laterally outer sides. The locking bodies 23D are locked to the lower ends of the upper or lower locked portions 12B from below. The retainer 23 is mounted on the connector housing 20 via the pegs 12.
(Connection of Flexible Board and Terminal Fittings)
The connection of the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 21 is described. In a state before an end part 30A of the flexible board 30 is arranged in the board accommodation space S2, the locking bodies 23F of the retainer 23 are locked to the lower ends of the respective upper locked portions 12B from below. At this time, the retainer 23 is in a second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12. Subsequently, the end part 30A of the flexible board 30 is inserted into the slit 20D of the board insertion portion 20B. Then, the respective embossed portions 21F contact the respective electrodes 30B of the end part 30A. The end part 30A is further inserted while maintaining a state where the respective embossed portions 21F are in contact with the respective electrodes 30B. When the tip of the end part 30A reaches a rear end part of the board accommodation space S2, the retainer 23 is set in a pressing state.
Specifically, the locking bodies 23D are locked to the lower ends of the respective lower locked portions 12B from below (see FIG. 5 ). Then, the spring piece 23C of the retainer 23 contacts the upper surface (surface to which a reinforcement plate is adhered) of the end part 30A, and is deflected in a direction toward the retainer body 23A. That is, the flexible board 30 is pressed in such a direction that the end part 30A of the flexible board 30 approaches the terminal fittings 21 by the spring piece 23C of the retainer 23. That is, the retainer 23 is provided with the spring piece 23C for resiliently pressing the flexible board 30 and bringing the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 21 into contact when the retainer 23 is in the pressing state. At this time, the retainer 23 is in a first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 12 and in the pressing state for pressing the flexible board 30.
The connector 2 of the present disclosure is provided with the spring piece 23C for resiliently pressing the flexible board 30 and bringing the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 21 into contact when the retainer 23 is in the pressing state.
According to this configuration, even if a dimension between the flexible board 30 and the terminal fittings 21 varies, the flexible board 30 can be reliably brought into conduction with the terminal fittings 21 by the spring piece 23C.
The spring piece 23C of the connector 2 of the present disclosure is integrally provided to the retainer 23.
According to this configuration, since the spring piece 23C is integrally provided in the retainer 23 constituting a configuration for sandwiching the flexible board 30, the number of components can be reduced as compared to the case where the spring piece 23C is provided separately.
Third Embodiment
A connector 3 according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 . The connector 3 according to the third embodiment is different from the first and embodiments in the form of a connector housing 40, the form of pegs 22, the form of terminal fittings 31, the form of a retainer 33, the form of a flexible board 130 and the like. Note that, in the following description, a side on which the flexible board 130 is pulled out from the connector housing 40 (left side in FIG. 9 ) is referred to as a front side concerning a front-rear direction, and upper and lower sides in FIG. 9 are defined as upper and lower sides concerning a vertical direction. Left and right sides in FIG. 8 are defined as left and right sides concerning a lateral direction.
[Configuration of Connector]
The connector housing 40 includes a terminal holding portion 40A having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a board arranging portion 40B formed in front of the terminal holding portion 40A. The terminal holding portion 40A includes cavities 40E (see FIG. 9 ). Wall portions 40F partitioning between adjacent ones of the cavities 40E are provided between the adjacent cavities 40E (see FIG. 8 ). Each side forming the upper end surface of each wall portion 40F is chamfered (see FIG. 8 ). In the third embodiment, a board accommodation space S3 includes a region where upper sides of the cavities 40E are open and a region above the board arranging portion 40B. In the board accommodation space S3, the front end of each wall portion 40F is located in a central part in the front-rear direction of the board accommodation space S3.
In the board accommodation space S3, the bottom surface of the board arranging portion 40B and the bottom surfaces of the cavities 40A are formed to be flush (see FIG. 9 ). Side wall portions 40H standing upward are provided on both left and right sides of the board accommodation space S3 (see FIG. 8 ). The peripheral edges of the upper end surfaces of the side wall portions 40H are chamfered (see FIG. 8 ). Two bosses 40D projecting upward are provided side by side in an arrangement direction of the cavities 40E in front of the wall portions 40F of the board accommodation space S3 (see FIG. 7 ). These bosses 40D have the same outer diameter.
The terminal fitting 31 is made of metal. As shown in FIG. 9 , the terminal fitting 31 is strip-like and formed to extend in a front-rear direction as a whole. A front side of the terminal fitting 31 is a terminal body 31A and a rear side thereof is a board connecting portion 31B. The terminal body 31A is arranged to be higher than the board connecting portion 31B. The terminal body 31A is arranged along the bottom surface of a board accommodation space S3. The terminal body 31A is arranged to face the board accommodation space S3. The front end of the terminal body 31A is located rearward of the front ends of the wall portions 40F. The terminal body 31A and the board connecting portion 31B are coupled by an intermediate portion 31C. The intermediate portion 31C is inclined downward toward the board connecting portion 31B from the rear end of the terminal body 31A. A press-fit portion 31D is provided in a rear end part of the terminal body 31A. If the press-fit portion 31D is press-fit into a rear end part of a cavity 40E, the terminal fitting 31 is retained and held in the connector housing 40 by the press-fit portion 31D.
The peg 32 is made of metal. As shown in FIG. 8 , the peg 32 is in the form of a flat plate as a whole. One peg 32 is mounted along the left or right side surface of the connector housing 40 on each of both left and right sides of the board accommodation space S3. A lower end part of the peg 32 is provided with a plurality of projections 32F to be inserted through through holes formed in an unillustrated board. In this way, the connector housing 40 is fixed to a surface of the board via the pegs 32. The peg 32 includes a press-fit portion 32D on each of front and rear ends (see FIG. 7 ). The pegs 32 are mounted on both left and right side surfaces of the connector housing 40 by press-fitting the press-fit portions 32D into groove portions 40K respectively formed in both left and right side surface parts of the connector housing 40. Each peg 32 includes one locked portion 32B. With each peg 32 mounted on the connector housing 40, each locked portion 32B extends in the front-rear direction and a lower side thereof is cut and raised laterally outward.
As shown in FIG. 8 , the retainer 33 includes a retainer body 33A, a plurality of locking portions 33B and a plurality of spring pieces 33C serving as resilient pressing pieces. The retainer body 33A is in the form of a rectangular flat plate as a whole. A recess 33G depressed downward is formed on a front side of the retainer body 33A (see FIG. 9 ). The recess 33G is formed with two through holes 33H arranged side by side in the arrangement direction of the cavities 40E (see FIG. 7 ). These through holes 33H have the same inner diameter. These through holes 33H correspond to the bosses 40D. The respective locking portions 33 are provided to hang down on both ends of the retainer body 33A in the arrangement direction of the cavities 40E. A locking body 33D extending laterally inward is provided on the lower end of each locking portion 33B.
As shown in FIG. 9 , each spring piece 33C is folded from the rear end of an opening formed in a central part in the front-rear direction of the retainer body 33A, extends toward a rear end and is arranged below the retainer body 33A. Each spring piece 33C corresponds to each terminal fitting 31. The spring piece 33C is inclined downward to the rear. A tip side of the spring piece 33C is bent toward the retainer body 33A and folded to extend forward. A base end side of the spring piece 33C includes an embossed portion 33F formed into a curved surface convex downward by being struck. The embossed portion 33F comes into point contact with a surface of an end part 130A of the flexible board 130 to which a reinforcement plate is adhered.
As shown in FIG. 8 , the retainer 23 is mounted on the connector housing 40 to cover an upper side of the board accommodation space S3 by the retainer body 33A. The respective locking portions 33B are arranged to cover the locked portions 32B of the pegs 32 from laterally outer sides. The locking bodies 33D are locked to the lower ends of the locked portions 32B from below. The retainer 33 is mounted on the connector housing 40 via the pegs 32.
For example, if the end part 130A is not arranged in the board accommodation space S3, the retainer 33 is not mounted on the connector housing 40. If the end part 130A is arranged in the board accommodation space S3, the locking bodies 33F are locked to the lower ends of the respective locked portions 32B from below.
(Configuration of Flexible Board)
The reinforcement plate (not shown) is adhered to the upper surface of the end part 130A of the flexible board 130 arranged in the connector housing 40. As shown in FIG. 8 , a plurality of electrodes 130B are provided in an exposed manner on the lower surface of the flexible board 130. These electrodes 130B extend in the front-rear direction and are arranged in parallel to each other. Slits 130C serving as insertion portions are formed between adjacent ones of the electrodes 130B on the end part 130A. The end part 130A is formed such that a plurality of strip-like shapes are arranged in the lateral direction by these slits 130C (not shown). Each slit 130C corresponds to each of the plurality of wall portions 40F of the connector housing 40. The wall portions 40F are inserted through the respective slits 130C with the end part 130A arranged in the board accommodation space S3. Two insertion holes 130D are formed side by side in a width direction of the flexible board 130 in front of the end part 130A (see FIG. 9 ). Note that only one insertion hole 130D is shown in FIG. 9 . These insertion holes 130D have the same inner diameter. These insertion holes 130D respectively correspond to the two bosses 40D.
(Connection of Flexible Board and Terminal Fittings)
The connection of the flexible board 130 and the terminal fittings 31 is described. In a state before the end part 130A of the flexible board 130 is arranged in the board accommodation space S3, the retainer 33 is not mounted on the connector housing 40. At this time, the retainer 33 is in a second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 32 and in a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board 130. Subsequently, the end part 130A of the flexible board 130 is arranged in the board accommodation space S3. At this time, the respective bosses 40D are inserted through the respective insertion holes 130D and the wall portions 40F are inserted through the respective slits 130C.
Subsequently, the retainer 33 is mounted on the connector housing 40 and set in a pressing state. Specifically, the respective bosses 40D are inserted through the respective through holes 33H and the respective spring pieces 33C are arranged between the respective wall portions 40F. Then, the locking bodies 33D of the retainer 33 are locked to the lower ends of the respective locked portions 32B of the pegs 32 from below (see FIG. 8 ). Then, the respective spring pieces 33C of the retainer 33 contact the upper surface (surface to which the reinforcement plate is adhered) of the end part 130A having the respective electrodes 130B arranged thereon, and are deflected in a direction toward the retainer body 33A. Then, the embossed portions 33F come into point contact with the upper surface of the end part 130A. At this time, the retainer 33 is in a first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 32 and in the pressing state for pressing the flexible board 130. At this time, a state where the bosses 40D of the connector housing 40 are inserted through the insertion holes 130D of the flexible board 130 is held by the retainer 33 (see FIG. 9 ). Thus, the flexible board 130 is restricted from coming out from the connector housing 40.
The connector housing 40 of the connector 3 of the present disclosure includes the wall portions 40F partitioning between adjacent ones of the terminal fittings 31. The flexible board 130 includes the plurality of electrodes 130B to be individually connected to the plurality of terminal fittings 31. The flexible board 130 is formed with the slits 130C by cutting between adjacent ones of the electrodes 130B, and the wall portions 40F are inserted through the insertion holes 130C.
According to this configuration, creepage distances between adjacent ones of the electrodes 130B formed on the flexible board 130 can be secured by the wall portions 40F.
The pegs 32 for holding the connector housing 40 mounted on the board are mounted on the connector housing 40 of the connector 3 of the present disclosure. The retainer 33 is in the pressing state when being in the first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 32 and is in the non-pressing state when being in the second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 32.
According to this configuration, since the pegs 32 are separate from the connector housing 40, a material of the pegs 32 can be different from that of the connector housing 40. Since this enables the selection of a material, which is not worn or deformed even if the retainer 33 made of metal is mounted, as the material of the pegs 32, the retainer 33 can be reliably held in the pressing state.
Fourth Embodiment
A connector 4 according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12 . The connector 4 according to the fourth embodiment is different from the first to third embodiments in that a retainer 43 is mounted rotatably with respect to pegs 42 and that long holes 230C serving as insertion portions are formed between adjacent ones of electrodes 230B of a flexible board 230. The same components as in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference signs and the structures, functions and effects thereof are not described. Note that, in the following description, a side on which the flexible board 230 is pulled out from a connector housing 50 (left side in FIG. 12 ) is referred to as a front side concerning a front-rear direction, and upper and lower sides in FIG. 12 are defined as upper and lower sides concerning a vertical direction. Left and right sides in FIG. 11 are defined as left and right sides concerning a lateral direction.
[Configuration of Connector]
The connector housing 50 includes a terminal holding portion 50A having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a board arranging portion 50B formed in front of the terminal holding portion 50A. The terminal holding portion 50A includes cavities 50E (see FIG. 12 ). A board accommodation space S4 open on an upper side is formed on front sides of the cavities 50E. In the fourth embodiment, the board accommodation space S4 includes a region where upper sides of the cavities 50E are open and a region above the board arranging portion 50B. In the board accommodation space S4, wall portions 50F partitioning between adjacent ones of the cavities 50E are provided between the adjacent cavities 50E (see FIG. 11 ). The front end of each wall portion 50F is located on the front end of the board accommodation space S4 (i.e. front end of the board arranging portion 50B) (see FIG. 12 ). Side wall portions 50H standing upward are provided on both left and right sides of the board accommodation space S4 (see FIG. 11 ).
A terminal body 21A is arranged along the bottom surface of the board accommodation space S4. The terminal body 21A is arranged to face the board accommodation space S4. The front end of the terminal body 21A is located in a central part in the front-rear direction of the board accommodation space S4. An embossed portion 21F comes into point contact with the electrode 230B of the flexible board 230.
As shown in FIG. 11 , a lower end part of the peg 42 is provided with a plurality of projections 42F to be inserted through through holes formed in an unillustrated board. The pegs 42 are mounted on both left and right side surfaces of the connector housing 50 by press-fitting press-fit portions 42D into groove portions 50K respectively formed in both left and right side surface parts of the connector housing 50 from above (see FIG. 10 ).
Each peg 42 includes two locked portions 42B (see FIG. 10 ). Each locked portion 42B extends in the front-rear direction and a lower part thereof is cut and raised laterally outward. In each peg 42, the two locked portions 42B are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. A through hole 42C is formed to penetrate between the two locked portions 42B of each peg 42 (see FIG. 10 ).
As shown in FIG. 10 , the retainer 43 includes a retainer body 43A, a plurality of locking portions 43B, a plurality of spring pieces 43C serving as resilient pressing pieces and a plurality of shaft portions 43E. The retainer body 43A is in the form of a rectangular flat plate as a whole. As shown in FIG. 11 , the respective locking portions 43B are provided to hang down on both ends of the retainer body 43A in an arrangement direction of the cavities 50E. A locking body 43D extending laterally inward is provided on the lower end of each locking portion 43B.
As shown in FIG. 12 , each spring piece 43C is folded from the front end of the retainer body 43A, extends toward a rear end and is arranged below the retainer body 43A. Each spring piece 43C corresponds to each terminal fitting 21. A tip side of the spring piece 43C is bent toward the retainer body 43A and fold to extend forward. A base end side of the spring piece 43C includes an embossed portion 43F formed into a curved surface convex downward by being struck.
The respective shaft portions 43E are provided on the respective locking portions 43B. The respective shaft portions 43E are locked to the pegs 42. Each shaft portion 43E is bent into a tubular shape projecting laterally inward from each locking portion 43B. The outer shape of each shaft portion 43E is slightly smaller than an inner diameter of the through hole 42C of the peg 42.
The retainer 43 is mounted on the connector housing 50 by inserting the respective shaft portions 43E through the through holes 42C of the pegs 42 from laterally outer sides. The retainer 43 is mounted on the connector housing 50 via the pegs 42.
For example, if an end part 230A of the flexible board 230 is not arranged in the board accommodation space S4, the retainer 43 is in such a state that the locking bodies 43D are not locked to the locked portions 42B with the shaft portions 43E inserted through the through holes 42C of the pegs 42. In this case, the retainer 43 is rotatable about the shaft portions 43E. At this time, the retainer 43 is in a second arrangement state with respect to the pegs 42 and in a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board 230. If the end part 230A is arranged in the board accommodation space S4, the locking bodies 43D of the retainer body 43A are locked to the lower ends of the respective locked portions 42B located on front sides of the pegs 42 from below by rotating the retainer 43 about the shaft portions 43E. At this time, the retainer 43 is in a first arrangement state with respect to the pegs 42 and in a pressing state for pressing the flexible board 230.
(Configuration of Flexible Board)
As shown in FIG. 11 , the plurality of electrodes 230B are provided in an exposed manner on the lower surface of the flexible board 230. These electrodes 230B extend in the front-rear direction and are arranged in parallel to each other. Long holes 230C extending in the front-rear direction are formed to penetrate between adjacent ones of the electrodes 230B on the end part 230A of the flexible board 230. The long hole 230C corresponds to each of the plurality of wall portions 50F of the connector housing 50. The wall portions 50F are inserted in the respective long holes 230C with the end part 230A arranged in the board accommodation space S4.
(Connection of Flexible Board and Terminal Fittings)
The connection of the flexible board 230 and the terminal fittings 21 is described. In a state before the end part 230A of the flexible board 230 is arranged in the board accommodation space S4, the retainer 43 is in the non-pressing state where the locking bodies 43D are not locked to the locked portions 42B with the shaft portions 43E inserted through the through holes 42C of the pegs 42. Subsequently, the end part 230A of the flexible board 230 is arranged in the board accommodation space S4. At this time, the respective wall portions 50F are inserted through the respective long holes 230C.
Subsequently, the retainer 43 is set in the pressing state. Specifically, the retainer body 43A is brought closer to the board accommodation space S4 by rotating the retainer 43 about the shaft portions 43E with the shaft portions 43E inserted through the through holes 42C of the pegs 42. Then, the locking bodies 43D are locked to the lower ends of the respective locked portions 42B located on the front sides of the pegs 42 from below. At this time, the respective spring pieces 43C are arranged between the respective wall portions 50F (see FIG. 11 ). Then, the respective spring pieces 43C contact the upper surface (surface to which a reinforcement plate is adhered) of the end part 230A having the respective electrodes 230B arranged thereon, and are deflected in a direction toward the retainer body 43A. Then, the embossed portions 43F come into point contact with the upper surface of the end part 230A. In this way, the retainer 43 rotates about the shaft portions 43E and the state thereof changes to the pressing state and the non-pressing state. In this way, the retainer 43 is set in the pressing state for pressing the flexible board 230. At this time, the flexible board 230 is in such a state as to hold the inserted state of the wall portions 50F in the long holes 230C by the retainer 43 (see FIG. 11 ). Thus, the flexible board 230 is restricted from coming out from the connector housing 50.
The retainer 43 of the connector 4 of the present disclosure includes the shaft portions 43E to be locked to the pegs 42, and the retainer 43 rotates about the shaft portions 43E to change the state thereof to the pressing state and the non-pressing state.
According to this configuration, the state of the retainer 43 can be easily changed from the non-pressing state to the pressing state without performing an operation of positioning the retainer 43 with respect to the connector housing 50.
Other Embodiments
The present invention is not limited to the above described and illustrated embodiments and is represented by claims. The present invention is intended to include all changes in the scope of claims and in the meaning and scope of equivalents and also include the following embodiments.
(1) Although the use of stainless steel as the material of the retainer is illustrated in the first embodiment, metal of another type may be used.
(2) In the first embodiment, the first arrangement state is a state where the locking bodies of the retainer are locked to the lower locked portions of the pegs and the second arrangement state is a state where the locking bodies of the retainer are locked to the upper locked portions of the pegs. Without limitation to this, the second arrangement state may be a state where the retainer is removed from the pegs.
(3) The resilient pressing pieces may be provided in both the retainer and the terminal fittings.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
    • 1, 2, 3, 4 . . . connector
    • 10, 20, 40, 50 . . . connector housing
    • 10A, 40A, 50A . . . terminal holding portion
    • 10B, 20B . . . board insertion portion
    • 10D, 20D . . . slit
    • 10E, 20E, 40E, 50E . . . cavity
    • 10F, 40F, 50F . . . wall portion
    • 10G . . . projecting portion
    • 10H . . . inclined surface
    • 10K, 40K, 50K . . . groove portion
    • 11, 21, 31 . . . terminal fitting
    • 11A, 21A, 31A . . . terminal body
    • 11B, 21B, 31B . . . board connecting portion
    • 11C, 21D, 31D . . . press-fit portion
    • 11E, 23C, 33C, 43C . . . spring piece
    • 12, 22, 32, 42 . . . peg
    • 12B, 32B, 42B . . . locked portion
    • 12D, 32D, 42D . . . press-fit portion
    • 13, 23, 33, 43 . . . retainer
    • 13A, 23A, 33A, 43A . . . retainer body
    • 13B, 23B, 33B, 43B . . . locking portion
    • 13C . . . inner wall portion
    • 13D . . . upper wall portion
    • 13E . . . outer wall portion
    • 13F, 23D, 33D, 43D . . . locking body
    • 13G . . . through hole
    • 21C, 31C . . . intermediate portion
    • 21F, 31F . . . embossed portion
    • 30, 130, 230 . . . flexible board
    • 30A, 130A, 230A . . . end part
    • 30B, 130B, 230B . . . electrode (pattern)
    • 30C . . . insertion hole (insertion portion)
    • 32F, 42F . . . projection
    • 33F, 43F . . . embossed portion
    • 33G . . . recess
    • 33H . . . through hole
    • 40B, 50B . . . board arranging portion
    • 40D . . . boss
    • 40H, 50H . . . side wall portion
    • 42C . . . through hole
    • 43E . . . shaft portion
    • 130C . . . slit (insertion portion)
    • 130D . . . insertion hole
    • 230C . . . long hole (insertion portion)
    • S, S2, S3, S4 . . . board accommodation space

Claims (7)

What is claimed is:
1. A connector, comprising:
a connector housing including a board accommodation space;
a terminal fitting mounted in the connector housing to face the board accommodation space; and
a retainer for sandwiching and holding a flexible printed circuit arranged in the board accommodation space between the terminal fitting and the retainer,
wherein:
a state of the retainer changes to a pressing state for pressing the flexible printed circuit toward the terminal fitting and a non-pressing state for releasing pressing to the flexible board,
the retainer is made of metal,
a peg positioned on a side surface of the connector housing and including a vertical flat plate and a lower end part bent horizontally from the flat plate for mounting the connector housing on a board, the flat plate including a plurality of upper and lower locked portions cut and raised laterally outward,
the retainer includes an outer wall portion for covering the peg from outside, and
the outer wall portion is provided with a locking body extending inward from a lower end of the outer wall portion toward the peg and to be locked to the lower locked portion.
2. The connector of claim 1, wherein:
the retainer is in the pressing state when being in a first arrangement state with respect to the peg and is in the non-pressing state when being in a second arrangement state with respect to the peg.
3. The connector of claim 1, wherein:
the retainer includes a shaft portion to be locked to the peg, and
the state of the retainer changes to the pressing state and the non-pressing state by the retainer being rotated about the shaft portion.
4. The connector of claim 1, comprising a resilient pressing piece for resiliently pressing the flexible printed circuit and bringing the flexible printed circuit and the terminal fitting into contact when the retainer is in the pressing state.
5. The connector of claim 4, wherein the resilient pressing piece is provided in at least either one of the retainer and the terminal fitting.
6. The connector of claim 4, wherein:
a plurality of the terminal fittings are provided in the connector housing, and
a plurality of the resilient pressing pieces are arranged to respectively correspond to the plurality of terminal fittings.
7. The connector of claim 3, wherein:
the connector housing includes wall portions partitioning between adjacent ones of the terminal fittings,
the flexible board includes a plurality of electrode patterns to be individually connected to the plurality of terminal fittings,
the flexible printed circuit includes insertion portions formed by cutting between adjacent ones of the electrode patterns, and
the wall portions are inserted through the insertion portions.
US17/787,110 2019-12-27 2020-12-07 Connector for holding flexible printed circuit Active 2040-12-07 US12068559B2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2019-237964 2019-12-27
JP2019237964A JP7367527B2 (en) 2019-12-27 2019-12-27 connector
PCT/JP2020/045364 WO2021131625A1 (en) 2019-12-27 2020-12-07 Connector

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20230033186A1 US20230033186A1 (en) 2023-02-02
US12068559B2 true US12068559B2 (en) 2024-08-20

Family

ID=76573959

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US17/787,110 Active 2040-12-07 US12068559B2 (en) 2019-12-27 2020-12-07 Connector for holding flexible printed circuit

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US12068559B2 (en)
JP (1) JP7367527B2 (en)
CN (1) CN114830451B (en)
WO (1) WO2021131625A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT202300007560A1 (en) * 2023-04-18 2024-10-18 Te Connectivity Solutions Gmbh Self-locking cover for connector for one FFC/FPC connector

Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH04253176A (en) 1991-01-29 1992-09-08 Canon Inc connector
US6213802B1 (en) * 1999-06-08 2001-04-10 Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co., Ltd. Electrical connector
US6345998B1 (en) * 2001-05-04 2002-02-12 Super Link Electronics Co., Ltd. Flexible printed circuit connector
JP2002093503A (en) 2000-09-08 2002-03-29 Fujikura Ltd Flexible printed circuit board connector
US20030220013A1 (en) 2002-05-23 2003-11-27 Ipson Lee Flexible printed circuit connector capable of resisting against lateral pressure
JP2008053123A (en) 2006-08-25 2008-03-06 Jst Mfg Co Ltd FPC connector
US20080305659A1 (en) 2007-06-06 2008-12-11 Omron Corporation Electrical connector
JP2011216422A (en) 2010-04-01 2011-10-27 I-Pex Co Ltd Electrical connector
JP2015056338A (en) 2013-09-13 2015-03-23 宏致電子股▲ふん▼有限公司Ａｃｅｓ Ｅｌｅｃｔｒｏｎｉｃｓ Ｃｏ．，Ｌｔｄ． Connector
US10847911B2 (en) * 2018-12-07 2020-11-24 Bellwether Electronic Corp. Electrical connector for FFC/FPC

Family Cites Families (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4818059A (en) * 1986-03-14 1989-04-04 Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Optical connector and splicer
JPH0635413Y2 (en) * 1989-07-10 1994-09-14 ホシデン株式会社 connector
JP3019281U (en) * 1995-05-18 1995-12-12 モレックス インコーポレーテッド No insertion / removal force connector
US5924891A (en) * 1997-12-15 1999-07-20 The Whitaker Corporation Connector assembly for flat circuitry
JP4434147B2 (en) * 2006-01-10 2010-03-17 住友電装株式会社 connector
US7842592B2 (en) * 2007-06-08 2010-11-30 International Business Machines Corporation Channel strain engineering in field-effect-transistor
JP4247798B1 (en) * 2008-05-15 2009-04-02 株式会社旭電化研究所 Connector structure
JP5327461B2 (en) * 2009-05-13 2013-10-30 第一精工株式会社 Connector device
JP4978871B2 (en) * 2009-11-18 2012-07-18 Ｓｍｋ株式会社 Board connector
WO2012010964A1 (en) * 2010-07-19 2012-01-26 Fci Fpc shielded connector
JP5305052B2 (en) * 2011-11-08 2013-10-02 Ｓｍｋ株式会社 Connector for plate cable
TWI614944B (en) * 2013-01-17 2018-02-11 星電股份有限公司 Substrate edge connector
KR20160101322A (en) * 2015-02-16 2016-08-25 (주)씨엘 Non-contact pin type Electric connector for connecting a FPC to a FPCB
JP6534213B2 (en) * 2015-10-27 2019-06-26 ヒロセ電機株式会社 Board connection connector with terminal inspection mechanism
CN206422267U (en) * 2016-12-09 2017-08-18 天津亿鑫通科技股份有限公司 Press self-feeding type connector
JP2018190625A (en) * 2017-05-09 2018-11-29 住友電装株式会社 connector

Patent Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH04253176A (en) 1991-01-29 1992-09-08 Canon Inc connector
US6213802B1 (en) * 1999-06-08 2001-04-10 Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co., Ltd. Electrical connector
JP2002093503A (en) 2000-09-08 2002-03-29 Fujikura Ltd Flexible printed circuit board connector
US6345998B1 (en) * 2001-05-04 2002-02-12 Super Link Electronics Co., Ltd. Flexible printed circuit connector
US20030220013A1 (en) 2002-05-23 2003-11-27 Ipson Lee Flexible printed circuit connector capable of resisting against lateral pressure
JP2008053123A (en) 2006-08-25 2008-03-06 Jst Mfg Co Ltd FPC connector
US20080305659A1 (en) 2007-06-06 2008-12-11 Omron Corporation Electrical connector
JP2011216422A (en) 2010-04-01 2011-10-27 I-Pex Co Ltd Electrical connector
JP2015056338A (en) 2013-09-13 2015-03-23 宏致電子股▲ふん▼有限公司Ａｃｅｓ Ｅｌｅｃｔｒｏｎｉｃｓ Ｃｏ．，Ｌｔｄ． Connector
US10847911B2 (en) * 2018-12-07 2020-11-24 Bellwether Electronic Corp. Electrical connector for FFC/FPC

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
International Search Report issued on Feb. 2, 2021 for WO 2021/131625 A1 (4 pages).

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CN114830451A (en) 2022-07-29
JP2021106139A (en) 2021-07-26
WO2021131625A1 (en) 2021-07-01
CN114830451B (en) 2024-04-16
US20230033186A1 (en) 2023-02-02
JP7367527B2 (en) 2023-10-24

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US4129351A (en) Connector assembly for printed circuit board
US6773287B2 (en) Electrical connector for flat conductor
US6821158B2 (en) Connector
CN109004410B (en) Movable connector
US7648377B2 (en) Connector having connection detecting means which is elastically deformable
US7048573B2 (en) Plug-type connector and electric connector comprising the same
CN105531880B (en) Cable holding member, arrangements of electric connection, electrical connector, flat cable
US10522929B2 (en) Connector to provide reliable electrical connection
US7128596B2 (en) Plug-type connector and electric connector comprising the same
CN110061375A (en) Connector, docking connector and connector assembly
US20100055979A1 (en) Electrical connector having improved terminals
US11088476B2 (en) Board connector with chained terminals
CN104253337A (en) Connector, and header and socket included in the same
WO2005096445A1 (en) Connector
CN104253345B (en) Connector and plug and socket used in the connector
CN104253325A (en) Connector, and header and socket included in the same
CN101997197B (en) Connector
US20090081900A1 (en) Electric connector
US12068559B2 (en) Connector for holding flexible printed circuit
JP5015268B2 (en) Terminal assembly, connector, and manufacturing method thereof
JP2006252975A (en) connector
US20220149551A1 (en) Electric connector for flat conductor
JP2019129137A (en) Connector, mating connector, and connector assembly
US10122104B2 (en) Connector for a flexible printed circuit
JP2005243403A (en) connector

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., JAPAN

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:NOZAKI, SHINJI;REEL/FRAME:060240/0815

Effective date: 20220511

Owner name: SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD., JAPAN

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:NOZAKI, SHINJI;REEL/FRAME:060240/0815

Effective date: 20220511

Owner name: AUTONETWORKS TECHNOLOGIES, LTD., JAPAN

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:NOZAKI, SHINJI;REEL/FRAME:060240/0815

Effective date: 20220511

FEPP Fee payment procedure

Free format text: ENTITY STATUS SET TO UNDISCOUNTED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: BIG.); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY

STPP Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general

Free format text: DOCKETED NEW CASE - READY FOR EXAMINATION

STPP Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general

Free format text: NON FINAL ACTION MAILED

STPP Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general

Free format text: RESPONSE TO NON-FINAL OFFICE ACTION ENTERED AND FORWARDED TO EXAMINER

STPP Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general

Free format text: FINAL REJECTION MAILED

STPP Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general

Free format text: DOCKETED NEW CASE - READY FOR EXAMINATION

STPP Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general

Free format text: NOTICE OF ALLOWANCE MAILED -- APPLICATION RECEIVED IN OFFICE OF PUBLICATIONS

ZAAA Notice of allowance and fees due

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: NOA

ZAAB Notice of allowance mailed

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: MN/=.

STPP Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general

Free format text: PUBLICATIONS -- ISSUE FEE PAYMENT RECEIVED

STPP Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general

Free format text: PUBLICATIONS -- ISSUE FEE PAYMENT VERIFIED

STCF Information on status: patent grant

Free format text: PATENTED CASE